


Truth n Loot

by CaitClandestine



Category: Fortnite (Video Game), Lachlan Power - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 00:16:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20573303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaitClandestine/pseuds/CaitClandestine
Summary: Mitch and Lachlan talk.





	Truth n Loot

**Author's Note:**

> just a quick little thing I was thinking of after the actual stream
> 
> and yes I will be using the phrase ball of Brawl in like every fic in the future

The offer comes to Lachlan first, as it should. Mitch knows that he's not a huge streamer by any means, doesn't have the kind of audience that most companies are looking for but when Lachlan comes into his room to ask if he'd be interested in doing the helpline stream instead he says yes and somehow the charity agrees and all of a sudden he's been emailed a list of talking points and is suddenly in way too deep.

He wants to do it, he's just not sure how relevant he's really going to be. He remembers a little of the mental health units he'd studied at the beginning of his paramedicine degree and he's been keeping an eye on his brother for the last few years but personally he doesn't have that much to stand to on. 

Helping is almost second nature to him, the reason why he still might make it his career and he's been around the internet long enough to know exactly the kinds of things that go on, desperate kids trying to gain traction anywhere they can and if he can convince just one viewer to call and talk to someone then it'll be worth it, he has to try.

Lachlan warns him against sharing too much – like he has anything much to share to at all – because sure he's had bad times but they seem so insignificant to anyones real problems, that him having a few weeks of anxious what will I do with my life crisis and then talking to their mum is in any way comparable to anything real. 

He's grown up with a nice, regular nuclear family, never been bullied at school and apart from the breadth of his worries about the future he's really not sure if he's going to come across as believable. But he tries, he tries so hard even though he fumbles his words sometimes, tries to keep his chat open and positive and the discussion between them and not so much him, thankful that he's able to keep his mind busy with attempting to get some wins on the side.

The actual, proper counsellor in the chat assures him he's doing just fine, that all he needs to convey is that it's okay to talk about your feelings, whatever they are and Mitch thinks he's at least done that, even if it feels like he's hiding something when he's got nothing worth hiding. He wraps up the stream at the appropriate time, too drained to want to keep playing and hides in his room, wondering if he's done the right thing, done enough.

Lachlan finds him eventually, knocking on his door and poking his head around and Mitch knows the smile he's trying to arrange on his face isn't fooling anyone. Lachlan slides around the door, comes to sit on the end of his bed.

“Didn't catch the stream, how'd it go?”

Mitch shrugs. “It was okay” He says carefully, “I hope it helped but I don't know”

Lachlan pats at his blanket covered ankle.

“I'm sure it did, you've got that way of getting people to listen”

The words are sweet but they don't make him feel any better. He tucks his knees to his chest, moving his legs out of his brothers reach.

“Come on” Lachlan encourages, “You can talk to me, wasn't that the whole point of the stream, reminding people it's okay to chat about their feelings?”

“Yeah but my feelings are stupid” Mitch mutters, kind of resigned to the fact that there's no way Lachlan's going to leave him alone until he offers something and the way the others face falls sadly really doesn't fucking help.

“No ones feelings are stupid, I know you know that” Lachlan counters patiently, “Just because you don't have to drag around all the bullshit that I do, or that other people do doesn't make how you feel any less important or any less relatable”

Lachlan has real problems. Mitch has been up with him enough nights, taken him to enough appointments and reminded him about enough medication to know just how terrifyingly real they are and there's just no way he can even come close to knowing what it's like.

“And I know you're overthinking it, just stop for a minute and look at me”

He does, looks up and meets Lachlan's concerned expression even though he wants to cringe away from it, hide underneath his blankets and be embarrassed for being so dramatic all by himself because knowing that he's upsetting his brother is only making it worse, that Lachlan has to be worried about him when there's nothing wrong.

“Personal experience isn't everything” Lachlan states seriously, “Like with Jake, you know he doesn't come to me to talk about certain things even though he knows we've got some similar experiences, he always goes to you, doesn't he?”

Mitch nods, because he does. More than once he's found himself with a ball of Brawl, offering up a listening ear to more things he can't possibly understand.

“He goes to you because you're better at listening and talking him through stuff and I can guarantee you it's never crossed his mind that you're not relating to him because you don't personally know exactly what it's like and for the record neither have I”

“And” Lachlan adds, voice dropping quieter, dropping the eye contact they've mostly been keeping, “No one ever wants someone to know what it's like, having things in your head all messed up”

His tone is suddenly sad enough that Mitch has to unfold himself, pull back the blankets and shuffle down the bed to wrap an arm around Lachlan's shoulders, let Lachlan press into his side.

“See, look what you're doing right now, you're not thinking about how you don't know, are you?”

“No” Mitch admits, because he's not. It's instinctive almost, the way he wants to reach out to people and he generally just goes with it and it hasn't failed him so far.

They sit in comfortable silent for a while, Lachlan leaning up against him and like, Mitch is mildly aware that he's absolutely letting himself be cuddled more for his benefit but it works, his heart rate comes down and he stops running the stream over in his head, thinking of all the things he could've said. It was probably okay, knows that Lachlan's only been telling him the truth tonight and he's suddenly incredibly fond of his brother, squeezes him a little tighter for the knowledge that even though it's hidden a little further and doesn't come out as often he's just as able to be there to to talk, to relate to even though they don't match up. 

“Billy was just starting to roll out that pasta dough he literally made by hand when I came up” Lachlan says a few minutes later, “Wanna go and make Masterchef commentary, I was thinking about getting some scorecards and everything”


End file.
